Lydia - Acoustics 2012

Last October, Arizona outfit Lydia came from the ashes like a phoenix, but not a conventional phoenix. Vocalist Leighton Antelman and drummer Craig Taylor recorded a new album entitled Paint It Golden under the name Lydia and released it to the public. A few weeks ago, they announced an acoustic EP, which was intriguing to me, because I loved Lydia’s acoustic material. After listening to the EP, I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The gist of the EP is this – it’s merely composed of five songs that have been on previous Lydia releases, so there aren’t new songs, which will really only interest fans of the band, rather than “convert” any new ones.

The EP starts off with “I’ve Never Seen a Witch” from 2010’s Assailants, which is my favorite Lydia release. There really isn’t any other reason for that, other than personal preference. My favorite Lydia songs are on this release, and “I’ve Never Seen a Witch” is my favorite Lydia song. Right when the EP begins, it has a very somber and quiet vibe to it; Antelman is singing quietly with a quiet beat in the background as he’s singing. The song picks up more with some strings, but it sounds so haunting, and rather creepy, but on a good way, however. Next song “Best Nights” is the complete opposite of the first track; it’s bright, bouncy, and really reflects the vibe of the song. This song appears on 2011’s Paint It Golden, and it’s one of three songs that do, out of the five-song EP. The other two songs (first song “I’ve Never Seen a Witch” and third song “We Clean Up So Well”) are on Assailants. Third song “We Clean Up So Well” sounds nice, too, but this is a song I never really cared for too much, in all honesty. Regardless, fourth track “Skin + Bones” is one of my favorites on this EP as well, because I loved the original version of this track. It translates well to an acoustic version. Finally, fifth track “Hailey” really interesting, because this is the first track on Paint It Golden, so I can’t imagine this song being the last song of an EP/album, but that’s okay. It’s a nice quiet track that really ends the EP nicely.

To be honest, there’s not much to say about this EP, other than it’s nice if you’re a fan of the band. Even if you’re not, this still is a cool EP to listen to, if you’re a fan of acoustic/indie music. The band’s original material isn’t quite far off from what this EP sounds like. Either way, this is something to tide the fans over until some new music, and I like that a lot.

Recommended If You Like

Lydia, Iron and Wine, The Head and the Heart, Fleet Foxes, indie, acoustic, etc.

Additional Information

Track Listing:
1. I’ve Never Seen a Witch
2. Best Nights
3. We Clean Up So Well
4. Skin + Bones
5. Hailey